By The Way
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Band Name: Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Record Label: Warner Brothers
- Release Date: Jul 9, 2002
- Critic Score
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100A fantastic record, full of wonder. [Aug. 2002, p.118]
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91A majority of By the Way features astoundingly wise steps in new, mature directions.
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90'By The Way' is pretty much 'Californication' part two with a deeper exploration of the nu melodic Peppers, a classic LA record that somehow combines the melodic rush of the Beach Boys and Mamas and Papas and hints at the dark underbelly of the city of angels just like Love did way back in the late sixties.
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90Certainly the most absorbing rock album of 2002, if not the best.
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90Daring and inventive, it takes the kind of stylistic chances and creative leaps that were once the property of the heavies of '60s rock and pop.
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By the Way is orchestral, taunting, sinister, beatific, rousing, jocular, nervy, ethereal, and dare I say it, mature.
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Overall, the album leans more toward the melodic end of their oeuvre, but they have grown into this kinder, gentler mode organically, progressively working toward this groove little by little, album by album.
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A near-perfect balance of gutter grime and high-art aspiration, the Rick Rubin-produced By the Way continues the Peppers' slow-motion makeover.
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80This is one beautiful record.
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80Sonically, this is the most diverse and intriguing work of their careers.... A welcome surprise.
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For every successful foray... there's a less satisfying track; the album is less focused and has a mushier center than ''Californication.''
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By god is it ever long (it's 16 tracks), but on the whole it showcases enough of what makes the Chili Peppers a very good rock group – chief among these are John Frusciante's excellent, inventive guitar playing, and the fact that it is with tremendous conviction that Anthony Kiedis belts out even the most ridiculous words.
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70Underpinned throughout by the kind of melancholic edge discovered on radio friendly ode to smack 'Under The Bridge', and punctuated by a spontaneous, back-to-basics feel, it's an album that sees the Chilis revitalised.
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70The strongest Chili's album since 1991's Blood Sugar Sex Magik.
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By The Way inevitably suffers for its familiarity: Had it followed 1995's so-so One Hot Minute instead of Californication, it would qualify as a revelation instead of a worthy retread.
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It's not enough for Anthony Keidis to get all mature--he's supposed to say something interesting about maturity. And he's never had thing one to say about anything else.
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60By The Way presents a band who have mellowed and matured with unusual benefits to their music. [Sep 2002, p.118]
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60Essentially Californication 2, a reprise of their last album. [#9, p.142]
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By the Way is as enjoyable as being stuck in an elevator playing a Muzak version of "Under the Bridge."
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Kiedis's lyrics are absolutely baffling.
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Spit-shine production, passionless instrumentation, (extremely) laid back grooves and laughably awful lyrics all conspire to do this once explosive band in.
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User score distribution:
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Positive: 49 out of 55
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Mixed: 3 out of 55
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Negative: 3 out of 55
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